To people paying attention, Rob Gronkowski is the greatest tight end in NFL history.
He didn’t play enough seasons to pile up the stats of some of the other greats. But nobody at the position was better, more impactful or a tougher matchup than Gronkowski in his prime, which featured four first-team All-Pro selections and four Super Bowl championships as Tom Brady‘s most valuable target.
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Thus far, this has not resulted in Gronkowski’s No. 87 being retired in New England. First-year Patriots receiver Romeo Doubs is the latest to wear No. 87 since Gronkowski’s last game with New England in the 2018 season.
Gronkowski was asked about this on Wednesday during an interview with Kay Adams. He told Adams that he wasn’t consulted about Doubs wearing No. 87. He also says he doesn’t care.
When asked about the topic, Gronkowski took the diplomatic route and touted Brady’s No. 12 as the only Patriots number from his era or any that deserves to be retired.
“I’m not the one who makes the decisions over there,” Gronkowski said. “I wasn’t consulted at all. But I’m cool with it.
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“The only number that I truly believe should be retired in New England … is the No. 12. … Tom set the standards. If you’re not on that page, if you’re not playing for 20 years, I don’t think that any other number should be retired.”
Doubs isn’t the first player post-Gronk to wear No. 87 in New England. He is the most prominent.
Players like Tre Nixon, Matt Sokol and Mitchell Wilcox — some of whom never caught a regular-season pass with the Patriots — have also donned New England’s No. 87 since Gronk’s last game.
Doubs is a starter and someone the Patriots hope is an impact player. His issuance of No. 87 is more visible and drawing more attention.
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Retiring numbers in football is a more significant proposition than in other sports. There are only 100 numbers available from 0-99, and NFL teams field 53-man rosters each season. Add in that jersey numbers in football are position-specific, and scarcity becomes more of a factor. Retiring a number is not a decision that is or should be made lightly.
The flip side of the argument is that the Patriots have retired the following players’ numbers in addition to Brady’s:
Gino Cappelletti (20)
Mike Haynes (40)
Steve Nelson (57)
John Hannah (73)
Bruce Armstrong (78)
Jim Lee Hunt (79)
Bob Dee (89)
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Few of those players sniffed a Super Bowl or an NFL championship with the Patriots, and none of them won one. Gronkowski, by contrast, won three Super Bowl rings in New England as an All-Pro contributor and the best to ever play his position. His impact on the story of the New England Patriots is more significant than any of those players not named Brady.
In that context, it’s difficult to make the case against Gronkowski’s jersey retirement, even if he says he doesn’t care about it.
